One of the girls who read my book….has sent this note….I have masked her name….obviously do not want her name to show up in a Google search!!

Name:  hidden           Age: 23 (born 1987)         Profession: Service / Banker
1. At what age do you plan to retire? Have you started saving for retirement?

I plan to retire when I have accumulated enough money for my post retirement life.* And yes, I have started investing for creating my retirement corpus. I have invested in a couple of Systematic Investment Plans – one of which is a tax saving scheme (Elss fund) with a leading fund house.
(the schemes are x and y)

2. Do you know how much you will require after retirement? How have you calculated the amount?
I have attempted some crude calculations – but the whole event is so far away that I do not think the figure is anywhere near accurate! Have not bothered too much about the accuracy – but I hope to accumulate about Rs. 5-6 crores by the time I reach my 50s. This will happen by stepping up my SIP from about 9000 presently to about Rs. 100,000 per month by the time I am in my 50s. Have realized that the earlier I start and bigger the amount, the greater will be the corpus*. My expected returns are in the region of about 14%p.a. – or in any case a rate superior to Public provident fund which will yield about 8%p.a. I have no clue whether I am accurate, but in the past 9 months I have got about 13% on my SIP.

3. What products have both of you invested in for retirement savings?
No products have been specifically earmarked for ‘retirement savings’ but apart from my equity mutual funds, I have a Provident Fund which is a debt product, but my contribution is compulsory. I have a PPF in which I have put Rs. 1000.

4. How much do you plan to save for retirement in a year (please give % break up for different options if possible).

I would like to earmark at least 10% of my net income for retirement – currently the earmarking is in the mind*! As time goes by and I need to withdraw for other goals, I will ensure that the money retained for retirement is sufficient for retirement. Currently all my mutual fund SIPs are in equities and my provident fund contribution is in debt instruments.

*This is the learning from Retire Rich: Invest Rs. 40 a day!

Thank you girl! At your age, I wish I was half as evolved as you are! God bless you…

PS: have seen her for one year….not sure whether she will do it for a few years…to be brutal. However as a friend I hope she does it…good for her!!